Moving Forward
by InkySwear
Summary: Calvin is going to college, and reunites with a childhood friend. Brace yourselves for a time of mischief and glory, typical Calvin/Hobbes fights, and possible romance! Debut FanFic
1. Cleaning

**A/N: **Well now, my first FanFic. Ever. Hope you enjoy it, whomever you may be! c:

**Disclaimer: **Calvin and Hobbes is by no means mine, nor are any of Mr. Watterson's fantastic inventions of the imagination.

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As Calvin was packing his clothes and necessities into an already full suitcase, his mother called him to come downstairs; she handed him a duster, a miniature vacuum and a large black garbage bag.

"I want you to clean out your closet before you leave. Who knows what might be growing in there? I don't want to have to wake up in the middle of the night with one of your childhood rot monsters chasing after me." She grimaced. She hadn't been near Calvin's closet for nearly four years, ever since she found a moldy sandwich partying on the floor of the back corner, plastered to the carpet.

"Yeah, yeah," Calvin muttered, "Whatever you say, Mom." Calvin's mom patted him on his yellow head absently and went back to cooking dinner. He rolled his eyes.

As Calvin barreled through his closet, throwing stray garbage into the trash bag, he marveled at the things that he found in there. The majority of his stuff was so small! He couldn't remember the last time he took out his toboggan, or played with his Stupendous Man cape.

He smiled as he remembered the time he'd been stuck in the closet playing Stupendous Man, the man who needed no assistance. In his predicament, he had shifted his focus and played "Stupendous Man: Defender of the Darkness of Doom" for over an hour until his dad came home, opened the closet, and nearly had a heart attack when Calvin had leapt out at him with an extremely loud, "YAHHHH!"

Needless to say, Calvin had been grounded for a week for pillaging his Mom's coats, stepping all over her shoes, and scaring his father half to death.

Digging through his closet, Calvin also found his water gun (and part-time transmogrifier), a hefty helmet, packs of water balloons, yellowed newspaper hats, a tiny red spaceship, sports balls and sticks, as well as a pack of flags in a variety of colors.

Turning to put the sport equipment into a cardboard box he had found in the closet (labeled on the side as 'Transmogrifier' and 'Duplicator'), he heard shuffling behind him. He looked back at the closet. Nothing seemed amiss; everything was still in its gigantic pile. When he turned around again, he heard more shuffling, and something being moved. He whipped around, but all he saw was a pile of old trains, plastic toy cars, a scarf, and a thick orange and black striped rope-like object. Frowning, he turned around again and finished putting away the flags. The pile of toys was quiet. Calvin looked at the pile suspiciously, and walked out of the room to find another box.

Halfway down the stairs, Calvin heard a loud _CRASH_. He sprinted back up to his room and stood in the doorway wide-eyed.

A small tiger standing on its back paws was dusting himself off, and the remains of the glass lamp that used to be on the nightstand were around him. Looking up at the doorway, he smiled.

"You're a lot taller than I remember, Calvin," Hobbes said with a mischievous grin.

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**A/N:** Well, what do you think? It'd be wonderful if you R&R.


	2. Thoughts

**A/N:** The second installment of "Moving Forward"! Thanks to my two reviews so far. (I'll try to fit in dinosaurs! c:) Read, Enjoy, and Review!

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_Previously: A small tiger standing on its back paws was dusting himself off, the remains of the glass lamp that used to be on the nightstand around him. Looking up at Calvin, he smiled._

"_You're a lot taller than I remember, Calvin," Hobbes said with a mischievous grin._

_-- _

Bewildered, Calvin slammed the door behind him. "…Hobbes?! Man, I haven't seen you for the longest time! You're…"

"Short, dirty, and in desperate need of a bath," Hobbes replied, still trying to dust himself off. He looked up at Calvin, frowning. "I'm also wondering what in the world possessed you to just forget about me! We were just playing outside, you told me to wait, and you didn't come back. You're _mom_ was the one to come out and tell me to come home, and she made me take a bath and stuck me in that prison." He pointed to the closet. "You can't imagine what monsters I had to fight just to claim my own territory." He stood up a little straighter then. "You just need to show them who's boss," he said, smiling proudly. But then he looked at Calvin again and turned away angrily. "I can't believe you forgot about your best friend," he muttered.

Calvin put his face into his hands. "This can't be happening to me. I can't be thinking that I'm talking to him again. Hobbes has always been a figment of my imagination. He's never existed, he's never talked. He's…" But then Calvin looked up at Hobbes, and he knew that he was very much real, as real as anything would ever get. Looking back, Calvin knew that he had really forgotten his best friend; he had literally left him in the dust. Shame washed over him, as well as guilt.

"Damn it, Hobbes. I never thought… Well yeah, that's it, I never thought. I was six, I had a short attention span. But I swear I'll make it up to you. I don't know how, and I don't know how long it—"

"Why are you packing?" Hobbes interrupted. He was wide eyed and walking around the room; he stared at the much bigger and bare bed, the clothes strewn all around the room, the almost empty closet. He saw the messy, open, and full suitcase. He saw the equipment for Calvin Ball in the old Transmogrifier/Duplicator. He saw all the memories that he had in a pile in front of the closet. He picked up a flag and turned around. "Where are you going?" he asked in a small voice.

"Oh, well I'm—" Calvin was starting to answer when his mom opened the door.

"Calvin, what have I told you about slamming doors in this house? It's unacceptable!" She saw Hobbes sitting on top of the closet pile. She picked him up. "Hey, look at this Calvin. It's Hobbes." She picked a bit of lint off of him, and noticed a ripped seam close to his tail. "Hm, you look pretty beat up, old guy." Turning to Calvin, she said, "Hey, I'm going to run him through the washing machine and fix him up, and I'll put him in the Goodwill box so we can give him to charity, okay?"

Calvin saw Hobbes's eyes go wide. "NO!" he yelled, too loudly. His mom gave him a weird look. Calvin cleared his throat. "I mean, I'll take him, Mom. I want to make sure that he ends up where he belongs." He gave his mom what he hoped was a convincing smile, and Hobbes relaxed.

She shrugged. "Alright, then. I'll bring him back up when I've fixed him up. Anything else you need?" Hobbes pantomimed eating, stuffing his face with who-knows what. Calvin shot him a look that quieted him. She looked around the room and noticed the shattered lamp. "What happened there?"

"Oh, that was my bad, Mom. Trying to carry too many things at once." Calvin smiled sheepishly, giving the impression of a misbehaving child.

She shook her head. "Honestly, Calvin, sometimes you act like you're six all over again."

_Would that be a bad thing?_ Calvin thought.

"Do you want me to pick it up?" she asked, looking at the glass reluctantly.

"No, thanks Mom. I'll take care of it. Oh, and Hobbes," he started. His mother gave him a questioning look. "Ah, nevermind. I'll tell you later."

Hobbes nodded over his Mom's shoulder as she asked, "Tell me what later?"

"Oh, uh, never mind Mom. I've got it covered," Calvin said, giving her a thumbs up. She chuckled as she walked out of the room, and he realized that he had just given his mom a thumbs up over what she thought was a stuffed animal. He never gave anyone, especially his mom, a thumbs up. He buried his head in the pile of clothes that was is luggage and groaned.

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"So that's why I'm packing. I'm going to college at Columbia." Calvin chuckled. "Turns out I had the smarts to get through high school with flying colors."

He and Hobbes were lounging against the bed, eating sandwiches that Calvin had made (regretfully without chocolate syrup and marshmallows). Calvin had just finished explaining to Hobbes the packed clothes and clean closet.

Hobbes chewed on his sandwich thoughtfully. "So whatever happened to Susie Derkins? She was a cutie," Hobbes grinned, showing salmon between his teeth.

Calvin was taken aback by the question. Hobbes had given no sign that he had heard anything else Calvin had said. Then Calvin laughed and grew quiet. "She moved. It was in about sixth grade, when we were eleven. Her dad got transferred to some place in California, and I never saw her again. At the time, I remember thinking _Good riddance_. But now I don't know. What do you think?" He looked at Hobbes, and jumped at what he saw.

Hobbes was giving him the grin of a lifetime, literally from ear to ear. "I think," Hobbes said, "that I know exactly how you're going to make the last… how many years was it again?"

"Twelve…" Calvin replied.

"Right, _twelve_ years up to me." Hobbes fell back to eating his sandwich, taking slow, contented bites, and sneaking conspiratorial glances at Calvin.

Calvin grew nervous. He knew the plans that Hobbes could come up with. "Well, what is it?" Calvin ventured after a couple minutes of silence.

Without looking up, Hobbes said, "You're going to take me to college with you."

Calvin relaxed. He wouldn't mind doing that at all. After all, Hobbes was his best friend. He breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled at Hobbes.

Hobbes was smiling back at him smugly. "_And_…"

_Oh no._ Calvin's smile faded.

"You're going to find Susie Derkins."

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**A/N:** Thoughts? Thanks for reading. c:


	3. Searching

**A/N:** Hi. c: RER! (Haha… my own little version of R&R. Read, Enjoy, and Review.)

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_Without looking up, Hobbes said, "You're going to take me to college with you."_

_Calvin relaxed. He wouldn't mind doing that at all. After all, Hobbes was his best friend. He breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled at Hobbes._

_Hobbes was smiling back at him smugly. "_And…_"_

Oh no._ Calvin's smile faded._

"_You're going to find Susie Derkins."_

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Hobbes dropped his half of Calvin's suitcase on floor of the apartment. "Gosh, what did you pack in here, cement?" he said as he rubbed his arm and shoulders.

"Oh yes, definitely. But don't worry, I managed to fit some comic books in there, too," Calvin remarked as he set down his side of the load and looked at the room. He whistled. "Damn, Mom and Dad did really well this time. Look at this place!"

The room was indeed a paradise for the college freshman. There was a mini kitchen, a separate bedroom, a fireplace ("Can we make a fireball?" Hobbes remarked upon seeing this), hardwood floors and carpet where appropriate, and a big, plushy couch in the middle of the semi-small, but perfect for one person (or maybe two), living room. The walls were a blank egg-shell white, but that could easily be fixed. Calvin was thinking of a dark green for the walls. Out the window, Calvin could see his future learning domain in the distance. The sky was clear and a nice light shade of blue, and a cloud sailed by like a ship. Like a spaceship…

**Spaceman Spiff, interplanetary extraordinaire, was tearing through space, zooming away as fast as he could from his adversaries.**

"**This cockpit is getting crammed…" Spaceman Spiff muttered under his breath. "I can barely fit anymore."**

**The small red ship was hurtling toward yet another unknown planet, and the Zorgs were on Spiff's tail.**

"**Zounds! The Zorg's have launched their missiles! I'm hit! Spaceman Spiff is going DOWN!"**

**CRASH! Spiff crawled out of the wreckage, miraculously unscathed. The earth erupted next to him, bubbling with toxic chemicals. The planet was a wasteland of acids and precarious cliffs. Looking around, it seems that our hero is utterly alone.**

**Spiff turns around to see an alien on the planet! It has made no move to attack, but Spiff stealthily drew his death ray blaster and pointed it at the monster.**

"Calvin, what are you doing?" Hobbes asked him. Calvin had taken out the water gun and was pointing it at him suspiciously. Hobbes carefully took a step forward. "Calvin?"

"**Blorkz?" the alien sputtered out. Spaceman Spiff kept his blaster trained on it. The Zork took a step forward. "Blorkz?" it repeated. **

**Spiff eyed it carefully. It continued to walk forward slowly. He kept his finger on the trigger, gently applying pressure, little by little. It was getting closer… and closer…**

Hobbes snapped in front of Calvin's face. Calvin shook himself, coming out of the daydream. Hobbes looked at him strangely. "What was that all about?"

"What? Ah, oh, nothing," Calvin said. "Don't worry, I'm not going insane." _I think…strange, he's never been in a Spaceman Spiff adventure before,_ he thought to himself.

Hobbes shrugged. "Alright." His voice became urgent. "Okay, unpack your stuff! Hurry!"

"What? Why?" Calvin started to rush in reaction to the tiger's urgent tone, and dumped his clothes from the suitcase onto the floor. His toiletries fell out as well, rolling under the couch and all over the room. Looking at the mess, he opened his mouth and closed it again. "That probably wasn't the best idea I've had," he said to Hobbes, who only chuckled to himself.

"Oh, well. At least you're unpacked. Come on, get out your computer. We have work to do."

"Work?" Then Calvin remembered his deal with Hobbes. He sighed and pulled out his laptop, plugged it in, and waited for it to load. Hobbes wandered around the apartment, exclaiming at the large queen sized bed in the bedroom.

"Woah! This thing is huge!" he said. Turning to Calvin, who was lying down on the floor in front of his laptop, he glared at him accusingly. "Hopefully it's big enough for you, space-hog. And I call the fluffy pillow!"

"What? No! And call me a space-hog, will you? We'll see about that, fuzz-for-brains!" He and Hobbes leapt towards each other at the same time. As they fought, they flung Calvin's clothes all over the room, creating a world of clothes chaos.

The computer sang out a blissful tune, making Calvin and Hobbes turn to look at it. "Oh, hey, it's done loading." Hobbes let go of Calvin's shirt as Calvin let go of Hobbes's ear, and they both went to lie down in front of the laptop.

"Alright, so where do you want me to go?" Calvin asked, as if their scuffle had not even happened.

"I don't know. You know this thing better than I do. Just look for Susie Derkins," Hobbes was tapping the screen, trying to figure out how to work the computer. "Amazing how much of our lives is still governed by machines, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah," Calvin said impassively. Swatting Hobbes away from the screen, Calvin typed in Susie's name to the California yellow pages. Instantly, a name came up, and Calvin recognized Susie's mother's name. "Got it!" he yelled, proud of his discovery. Hobbes grinned. "Alright… well here's Susie's house phone number, but I don't know if we should call. She might not live there anymore, you know?"

Hobbes put on a thoughtful expression. "Well…" he said, drawing out the vowel, "we could call and ask. That never hurts."

Calvin nodded slowly, uncertain on whether he should agree. He didn't know if he wanted to call. His original plan was to find out where Susie was and be done with it, but now that he had, he was getting more intrigued. What had happened to her? What was she doing? Did she remember him?

Calvin nodded again, more confident in himself. "Sure. I'll call."

Hobbes looked at him, surprised. It wasn't the answer he'd been expecting. Then he smiled. Calvin saw his eyes crinkle as Hobbes looked at him knowingly. They stared each other down for a few seconds before Calvin looked away. Hobbes continued to look at him, smiling slightly.

Calvin began to feel awkward, squirming under Hobbes's gaze. "What? I just want to find out, is all. Nothing special." Hobbes started grinning. "Stop looking at me like that! Shut up."

Hobbes got up and skipped to the bedroom. "I didn't say anything!" he said in sing-song.

Uncertainly, Calvin turned back to the computer, muttering to himself about the foolishness of _some tigers_. He stared at the name on the computer screen. Unsure of what else to do, Calvin got the phone number and steeled himself to call Susie Derkins's California home.

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**A/N:** c: Don't forget to review! I'd really appreciate it.


	4. Letter 1

**A/N:** Thanks to all of my reviewers and alerters! Hope you enjoy the next chapter! RER!

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_Previously on Moving Forward: Unsure of what else to do, Calvin got the phone number and steeled himself to call Susie Derkins's California home._

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"Hello?" a mature female voice spoke on the other end of the line.

_Susie?_ Calvin thought. "Uh, yes, hello. Is Susie Derkins available?"

There was a brief pause. "No, sir, I'm afraid _Susan_ is not at home right now. In fact, she doesn't live here." _Susan? _Calvin mused to himself. _Interesting._ "May I ask who's calling?"

"Oh, this is Calvin. Look, I know this is awfully forward and unexpected, but… um…" Hobbes was poking him. "Quit it," he hissed at him. "She doesn't live there." Turning his voice back to the phone, he said, "I'm sorry, I got interrupted. Listen, I don't even know if you would remember me. I lived in your old neighborhood before you moved to California? I played with Susie, I mean, Susan sometimes when we were younger."

"I'm sorry, I don't recall…" he could sense that the woman was close to hanging up on him.

"Please, wait! Please don't hang up on me, I just want a chance to help you remember. I was short, with blond spiky hair, carried around…" he glanced at Hobbes. "Well, _had_ a tiger. Please, try to remember."

"I… I'm sorry… But why do you want me to know so badly?" Her voice was mildly amused.

"Because… Well, actually I don't really know." An idea popped into his head, and he spoke without thinking into the phone. "Would you mind giving me an address I can reach? Not e-mail, please. A mailing address."

_What?_ Hobbes was looking at him strangely, obviously confused. Calvin was confused himself. What had just happened? He had asked for Susie's _address_? What was he planning on doing? _Mailing_ her?

"Oh… well, I suppose that wouldn't hurt…" the woman said hesitantly. Calvin heard papers starting to shuffle in the background. "One second." Suddenly, her voice turned accusing. "Now, if I find out that you are mindlessly stalking my daughter, you will have all the forces of the law against you, do you hear me? I will have the police, the federal agents, and the whole _world_ looking for you. And no soliciting, either. I will not stand for it." Calvin could hear her quiet _Hmph!_ Over the telephone. He chuckled lightly.

"Oh, don't worry about that Mrs. Derkins. I wouldn't do that to her. Or to you," he added as an afterthought.

After a couple more accusing remarks and some"you-better-nots", Susie's—well,_Susan's_, if you're insistent—mom gave Calvin the mailing address. Thanking her profusely for reasons he could not fathom, Calvin hung up.

Calvin stared at the floor after hanging up. What had he just done? Why had he done it?

"I say you go through with writing to her." Calvin turned to look at Hobbes, who had on a lilting grin. "Like she said, it wouldn't hurt, would it?" Hobbes walked off, dug through Calvin's backpack, and came back with a sheet of paper. "Here," he said, handing it to Calvin.

"What am I supposed to write? I don't even know what to say, or what I should tell her, or…"

Hobbes interrupted him. "You only have one piece of paper. There's no obligation to write an essay to her. Just… write."

**The tiger was giving me quite a case. He wanted me to find the Derkins dame, the one of my youth. Apparently she was in the far reaches of California, and he wanted business.**

**Would I give it to him? I'd planned to find where she was a leave it in the dust, but the intrigue of the case had drawn me in. It was a case for a private eye.**

**My name is Bullet. Tracer Bullet. What the civilians call me, that's their business. I'm a private eye, a detective, if you will.**

**I paced through my office, unsure of what to do, how to begin. Questions bombarded my brain. Why was she in California? Was she involved in some sinister plot? Why had she run?**

**I had a hunch that once I'd asked, I'd be in too deep to get out.**

"…Alright. I'll do it," Calvin finally said. Hobbes grinned. Calvin settled himself on the couch with the paper and a pencil.

_Dear Susie,_

He paused, and glanced over at Hobbes. Hobbes gestured with his hands, urging him to go on.

_I don't know why I'm doing this. Do you remember me? It's Calvin. Pre-California Calvin, the one in your old neighborhood. Spiky blond hair, never-did-his-homework Calvin. Calvin, the best friend of Hobbes._

_I just wanted to write to see how you were. So… how are you?_

_Calvin (and Hobbes)_

Calvin set down his pencil. "Let's go out," he said, leaving the letter on the table. He'd attend to that later. "I need some air." He picked up his backpack, and put Hobbes into it. After looking around once, he stepped out the door, only to be knocked over by a young man his age, who seemed to be in a hurry.

"Hey! Watch it!" Calvin said as he landed on the floor. He got up slowly, and looked accusingly up at person who knocked him over.

The other young man looked sheepish. "Sorry… I'm kind of in a hurry. I'll make it up to you later!" he said, and ran off.

"Woah, what happened?" Hobbes poked his head out of the backpack.

"Aw, nothing, some person just knocked me over. Okay, let's really go now. Hopefully I can get out of the main door without getting into some other predicament."

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**A/N:** Sorry if it's a bit short… Not ecstatic about this chapter, but I guess it's decent. Stay tuned for the next chapter, and please review!


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